Damon Albarn was prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. In 1995, after his band Blur’s first paycheck from the success of their third album—1994’s Parklife—he bought a farmhouse in the countryside by the sea. “Everyone thought I was mad,” says the Blur frontman, and one half of the creative duo behind virtual band Gorillaz. “Everyone said, […]

Jorja Smith is lounging in her childhood bedroom in Walsall, her hometown 14 kilometres northwest of Birmingham, UK. “I feel bad that I’m feeling good. People have lost lives, jobs—some people don’t have homes,” she says. Smith has been non-stop since she released her debut single, “Blue Lights” in 2016. In the following months, her […]

From the moment Popcaan pops up on our Zoom call, the international dancehall star and CEO of Unruly Entertainment is on his best behaviour—for the most part. It’s an overcast day with light showers in Kingston, Jamaica and the 32-year-old is sitting shotgun in his Range Rover Sport, on his way to pick up some […]